2023 AUSTRALIAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TRIALS
- Tuesday, June 13th – Sunday, June 18th
- Prelims at 10am local (8pm previous day EDT)/Finals at 7pm local (5am EDT)
- Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Center
- LCM (50m)
- World Championships Selection Criteria
- Meet Central
- Final Start List
- Day 1 Prelims Live Recap/Day 1 Finals Live Recap
- Day 2 Prelims Live Recap/Day 2 Finals Live Recap
- Day 3 Prelims Live Recap/Day 3 Finals Live Recap
- Live Results
- Livestream (9now)
19-year-old Sam Short just ripped the 800m freestyle swim of his life en route to winning gold at the 2023 Australian World Championship Trials.
While racing the distance event on day 3 of the selection competition, Short fired off a massive 7:40.39 to top the podium by over 5 seconds. Runner-up Elijah Winnington got to the wall in 7:45.75 for silver while Matt Galea bagged bronze in 7:53.33.
Short commanded the race from start to finish, leading Winnington by over 2 body lengths. In doing so, Short accomplished his goal of overtaking the longstanding 7:41.59 All Comers Record Olympic icon Ian Thorpe put on the books over a decade ago in 2001.
As a refresher, All Comers Records are akin to U.S. Open Records and represent the fastest time performed on Australian soil by any nationality.
Entering this meet, Short’s lifetime best in this 8free event rested at the 7:42.96 logged at this year’s non-selection Australian National Championships. Prior to that, the teen’s PB checked in at the 7:48.65 logged at the 2022 edition of that same meet, meaning the ace has managed to hack off over 8 seconds in this event just in the past year.
Splits for Short’s 800 Free
Short’s 7:40.39 now ranks him #1 in the world this season, usurping Germany’s Lucas Martens who previously wore the crown with his 7:42.14 from April’s Berlin Swim Open.
2022-2023 LCM Men 800 Free
Hafnaoui
7:37.00
| 2 | Samuel Short | AUS | 7:37.76 | 07/26 |
| 3 | Bobby Finke | USA | 7:38.67 | 07/26 |
| 4 | Daniel Wiffen | IRL | 7:39.19 | 07/26 |
| 5 | Lukas Martens | GER | 7:39.48 | 07/26 |
But Short’s result carries more impact than just this season. He now becomes Australia’s #3 performer of all-time in this 800m free and also inserts himself in the list of all-time performers worldwide as the 10th swiftest in history.
Top 10 Australian Men’s LCM 800 Freestyle Performers All-Time
- Grant Hacket – 7:38.65 2005
- Ian Thorpe – 7:39.16 2001
- Sam Short – 7:40.39 2023
- Jack McLoughlin – 7:42.51 2021
- Mack Horton – 7:44.02 2015
- Elijah Winnington – 7:45.30 2022
- Kieren Perkins – 7:46.00 1994
- Jordan Harrison – 7:47.38 2013
- Tommy Neill – 7:48.65 2019
- Craig Stevens – 7:48.67 2007
Top 10 Men’s LCM 800 Freestyle Performers Worldwide All-Time
- Zhang Lin (CHN) – 7:32.12 2009
- Ous Mellouli (TUN) – 7:35.27 2009
- Sun Yang (CHN) – 7:38.57 2011
- Grant Hackett (AUS) – 7:38.65 2005
- Ian Thorpe (AUS) – 7:39.16 2001
- Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA) – 7:39.27 2019
- Bobby Finke (USA) – 7:39.36 2022
- Florian Wellbrock (GER) – 7:39.63 2022
- Mykhailo Romanchuk (UKR) – 7:40.05 2022
- Sam Short (AUS) – 7:40.39 2023
Very curious about his 1500 now!! Optimism suggests 14’35 is possible…
Anyone else notice anything unusual about these splits? Is this another case of a pool with a current?
Overall his even splits are faster than his odd splits, but that’s because of a fast final lap. Exclude that, and the average difference is like 0.1. I think a current would cause a bigger impact than that.
Future of rocket Sam Short. 🚀👨🚀🚀👨🚀 🌎🌕
Bronze medal in Paris 2024 🇫🇷
Silver medal in Los Angeles 2028 🇺🇸
Gold medal in Brisbane 2032. 🇦🇺
😊😊😊
make sure to zip it up when you’re done
Seems pretty unlikely that he would peak this late. I think him winning gold in 2024 is more likely than him winning gold in 2032.
I’ve been called ridiculous for thinking Zhang Lin’s 7:32.12 WR will at some point be the oldest standing WR in the books. I think the fact that we’re all going nuts over a time 8.27 seconds slower than WR is perhaps a testament to my claim.
Not to take anything away from Sam by the way, a 7:40.39 is a wicked time; #1 in the world this season, #10 all-time performer, and breaks Ian Thorpe’s 22-year-old All-Comers Record (Australia’s ‘U.S. Open Record’ equivalent).
that’s not ridiculous. for many years now, the m800 and w200 fly have been widely considered as the strongest WRs on the books
Mhm, I think it might have been because I’ve said this since like 2010 lol. Back in the day people would often retort with the Men’s 200FR, Women’s 200FR, Men’s 400IM etc.
I do personally think I’d add the Men’s 200BK to your list though!
Does any guy swam under 1’53” for the past ten years in men’ s 200 back?
No, Ryan Lochte is the only one under 1:53 in a textile suit when he swam a 1:52,96 in 2011
I don’t think it’s ridiculous, bit there a few that are similarly likely to be just as long standing (Sjostrom 50 fly, Ledecky 800,1500 free).
well outside of Zhang and Mellouli from 09, Short’s 7:40 is less than 2 seconds off the next fastest swimmers in history. And that’s the second massive PB for him this year in this event, so he’s on a great trajectory
Could you maybe post a link to the article where someone called you „ridiculous“ for this take?
Australia has a new middle & long distance swimming star.
We stan a short king.
Greg P is from AUS apparently lol.
but AUS does have 3 in the list anyway. More than any other country.
hahaha. but he has trained with horton at msac
We would be more than happy to take him haha
Excited to see what he does. Distance swimming sure is exciting this year.